MLB Considering Changes to Extra Innings Rules...

One of the most interesting games I ever broadcast was an extra inning game between the Padres and the Rockies in San Diego.  It was April 17 2008, which bled into April 18, after 22 innings, 42 players and 6 hours and 16 minutes of baseball. The contest didn't feature a single position player pitching, but did use a total of 15 hurlers, many needing to go multiple innings.  Who won?  Oh it was the Rockies 2-1.

I bring that game up because Major League Baseball is considering a change in rules when it comes to extra innings games.  The proposal which will be tried out in the rookie level Gulf Coast League and Arizona League this year, will place a runner at 2nd base to begin each inning after 9 frames are completed.  This is according to a Yahoo Sports report published online Wednesday. MLB will study the in-game scenarios this year to decide if the rule should be used at higher levels of minor league ball or even at the Big League level.

A variation of this rule has been used in international baseball for almost 10 years and will be used in the World Baseball Classic this spring. 

Joe Torre, MLB's Chief Baseball Officer was quoted as saying, "Let's see what it looks like." The former Yankees manager and major leaguer, is a strong proponent of the testing. "It's not fun to watch when you go through your whole pitching staff and wind up bringing in a utility infielder to pitch. As much as it's nice to talk about being at an 18-inning game, it takes time."

"Its baseball. I'm just trying to get back to that, where this is the game that people come to watch. It doesn't mean you're going to score. You're just trying to play baseball."

This line of thinking is wrong on so many levels in my opinion.  Take Torre's first point, about not wanting to see a position player wind up pitching in a game. First of all, it's a rare occasion. I'm sure those in attendance (those who stayed for all 16 innings) at the Cubs/Rockies game July 29, 2014, would beg to differ at how fun it was to watch then Cubs catcher John Baker pitch. Not only did he pitch, he scored the winning run and became the 1st position player to ever win a game in the history of the franchise. Fans enjoyed it. The players enjoyed it. The game played itself out as it has for over a century.

                        As mentioned in a Yahoo.com Sports Report

The only people that didn't enjoy the outing by Baker, were then manager Rick Renteria who didn't want to overuse his bullpen and then Colorado manager Walt Weiss who's team couldn't get to the Cubs catcher.  Weiss saying, "I think he was smart enough to know that if he stayed below the hitting speed he was going to be effective and that's what he did."

Again, these are rare happenings in baseball and to over react to change the rules of the game to speed it up like this is insane.

Cubs catcher John Baker pitches in extra innings 7/29/14

In this day and age of minute attention spans, I'm not surprised that baseball is thinking in this way, but come on, this game has been great for so long, this particular change seems unnecessary.  Why not a home run derby after 9 innings instead?  That way the game will end sooner. Much in the way the NHL has used the shootout (another horrible rule to me, a tie is a point in hockey, leaving without a winner is fine with me) and soccer goes to penalty kicks.

Extra innings is filled with drama, strategy and management of a team's pitching staff and bench.  Don't 'dumb this down' for the hard core fan base.

Not only will this rule change how the games are decided, but how will statistics be affected?  Former Major League pitcher and now MLB Network analyst, Dan Plesac took to Twitter today "...who (pitcher) gets the L or W? Is it a TEAM loss or win?" Very good question. Baseball is a game with statistics for everything.  How will these new extra inning games be scored in respect to not just W's and L's for players, but ERA, FIP, batting average w/RISP and so forth?  I know this is a minor point, but one that does need to be thought about, considering how, stats equal dollar signs for players come contract time.

What tha? Minors leagues might experiment w/runner at 2B in xtra innings? Who (pitcher) gets the L Or W ? is it TEAM loss or Win ?

— Dan Plesac (@Plesac19) February 9, 2017

There is a simple solution. I've said this countless times before, expand the roster.  Not to 40, not even to 30. Seems like 26, 27 or even 28 might do the trick.  Even if you want to do it like the NFL does, where you have a 53 man "roster" but dress only 45 at game time, do a 30 man, and dress 26-28.  If you think that's too many how about a 27 man roster, with 25 eligible each night, but one player can be designated to be activated only in extra innings. I'm spitballing here, but this has got to be better than a drastic change to an already great game.

I understand that things have to change to survive sometimes.  Its just difficult to see the rationale behind this type of move.  I am willing to see how this experiment in the minors turns out. Will it shorten extra innings?  Will it save time?  Will it save pitchers' arms? I guess where there's a will there's a way, but is it the right way to go?

2013 Season Preview - Padres

In a little less than a week the Padres will begin the 2013 season in the city so nice, they named it twice, New York, NY.   Citi Field, the same park the Padres opened in 2009 with Jody Gerut hitting a home run on the game's 3rd pitch from Mike Pelfrey in a 6-5 win.  

What will the team look like this time around in New York?  Let's dive in and take a look. 

Rotation

Edinson Volquez 

There are a few things that are certain, Edinson Volquez will start the opening game.  This will be the second straight season, Volquez will start the opener for the Padres, and the third time in his career.  He pitched well for the Dominican Republic team in the WBC, and after throwing in a minor league game when he returned to Padres camp, Bud Black had seen what he needed to and named "Eddie" the starter in game one.   He was 11-11 with a 4.14 ERA in 32 starts last season.  

Clayton Richard was tabbed to pitch in game 2 against the Mets.  Richard became the Padres most dependable starter last season.  He got off to a slow start, but rebounded nicely after a few minor tweaks from pitching coach Darren Balsley, and finished 14-14, with a 3.99 ERA in 33 starts, which was tops on the team.  Richard is the only piece left in the Padres system left from the 2009 Jake Peavy trade with the White Sox.  During his time with San Diego, Richard is 38-34, with a 3.90 ERA. 

Jason Marquis and Eric Stults will be the 3 and 4 pitchers in the rotation.  This we know.  We don't know officially the number 5 starter, as the competition heats up with Andrew Cashner, and Tyson Ross left in the competition.   My thought (only my opinion), is that Cashner wins the 5th spot, with Ross starting out in the bullpen. 

1. Volquez
2. Richard
3. Marquis
4. Stults
5. Cashner

Bullpen

Huston Street

3 spots to me are "no brainers", with Huston Street anchoring things as the closer.  23 saves last year in 24 chances made him one of the most effective in baseball.  The only problem was injuries.  A lat muscle cost him time on the DL as did a calf problem.  He was limited to 40 appearances, but was very good, and with that he earned a contract extension.  The other two in the "no brainer" conversation, are Luke Gregerson and Joe Thatcher.  

So that's 3 of the probable 7 man pen for Bud Black.  The other four, again in my opinion, will be Dale Thayer, Brad Brach, Anthony Bass and Tyson Ross.  The latter two giving Black some flexibility in their roles as long men, or in Bass' case the talent to pitch an inning in back to back days or give the Padres a spot start. 

Street
Gregerson
Thatcher
Thayer
Brach
Ross
Bass

Position Players
This is where it could get interesting.  There will be plenty of familiar faces from last season and a few new ones heading into 2013.  This is how I see the lineup looking come opening day vs. LHP Jonathan Niese of the Mets. 

1. Everth Cabrera - SS
2. Chris Denorfia - RF
3. Yonder Alonso - 1B

Yonder Alonso

4. Carlos Quentin - LF
5. Nick Hundley - C
6. Cameron Maybin - CF
7. Jedd Gyorko - 2B
8. Cody Ransom - 3B

Ok let's dissect. Cabrera will be given the first crack at the leadoff spot.  He has the talent. Cabrera seems like he wants to lead off, and has embraced the job, by trying to bunt, and is trying to be more selective at the plate.  If he gets on he's off to the races.   Denorfia will likely start in right against the lefty.  The combo platter of "Deno" and Will Venable last year went very well, allowing each to excel in their roles.   Alonso has been killing the ball lately in spring.  Especially to his pull side.  The home run he hit last Sunday in Peoria was quite impressive.  9 homers a year ago, and to me more than that (significantly) this season.  Quentin says he'll be ready and it's hard to argue with him.  16 homers in 248 AB's last year. Hundley will do the bulk of the catching early with Grandal on the suspended list.  Hundley suffered through a tough injury plagued season last year.  He fought it and the more he tried to come out of the slump, the worse it got.  Hundley is relaxed and in good shape this spring and is hitting well this spring.  Maybin showed signs of putting things together midway thru last season.  He did away with the high leg kick and it paid immediate dividends.  Not sure how many fans realize how difficult it is to make that type of change during a season.  It's not easy.  Gyorko looks ready, but again we are seeing his results in spring training.  Every conversation I have with him, I think, wow, this kid is special.  He gets it.  Let's hope it translates to the big leagues.  Ransom, is the guy I think they'll tab early to make the roster while both Headley and Forsythe recover from injury.  He's a serviceable big league fielder and in the opportunities he got last year, had some pop in the bat.  

Bench
Here is my thought on the bench:
Mark Kotsay
Jesus Guzman
Alexi Amarista
Will Venable
John Baker


Injury news 2013 is getting off to a painful start for the Padres.  Injuries have been a big story in Spring Training and could affect the final roster.  

Chase Headley
Undoubtedly the biggest blow is the early loss of Headley.  This guy burst onto the scene after the trade deadline and went on to win the NL RBI crown with 115, hitting a career high 31 homers.  Headley finished 5th in the NL MVP voting, he won a Silver Slugger and took home a Gold Glove Award last season.   But it was March 17, St Patrick's day when there was no luck for the Padres, as Headley slid into 2nd to try and break up a double play. In the process he fractured the thumb on his left hand and is out 4-6 weeks.  I caught up with him and he described how he may have dodged a big bullet with where the injury occurred on his thumb...

Headley describes injury placement

Headley plans to stay in shape and be ready when his time on the DL is up.  I guess it's better to have this kind of thing happen (if it has to happen) now, rather than in the middle of the season. 

Logan Forsythe
The guy tabbed to fill in for Headley, is also likely to start the season on the disabled list.  Forsythe played in his first spring game Tuesday and got two at bats, then left.  After the game he told reporters that his foot flared up during the game, and that he had a set back.  This news is not good.  Forsythe really came into his own a year ago with the bat, and proved to be a very good major league defender.  He was also the Padres insurance policy at SS behind Everth Cabrera and now that will likely fall on Alexi Amarista. 

Carlos Quentin
Limited to only 86 games last season with the bad knee, Quentin contributed mightily, smacking 16 homers in only 284 at bats.  This guy wants to be on the field.  Last year he worked his tail off to rejoin the team after the knee flared up. He's a fierce competitor and really wanted to be on the field for the good times in the 2nd half of the season.  I have no doubt that he will find a way to get on the field for Opening Day.  His performance in Tuesday's game in Scottsdale is an indication he and the organization feel that Quentin will be ready to go in New York. 

Alright, that's what I think.  We should find out fairly soon what the actual roster will look like. How do you think the NL West will shape up?  Many are predicting the Padres to finish 4th, behind the Dodgers, Giants and Diamondbacks and ahead of the Rockies.  I personally think the Padres could finish 3rd if the team stays healthy.   Or in the Padres case, gets healthy. 

As always feel free to leave a comment.  

Have a great night!

Andy

Bud Black Top Dog In The NL...

Just like this past Padres season, it came down to the wire, and in the end, Bud Black prevailed over Dusty Baker, and is the NL Manager of the Year in 2010.

Deserving?  You bet.  To me, and admittedly I'm a bit biased, it was a no brainer.   I didn't however think that the BBWA would get it right.  I figured it would go to the sentimental favorite, Bobby Cox, but in the end the writers did the right thing and gave the nod to our own skipper. 

The case is a simple one.  He did the best job of managing a baseball team this season.  Going through the peaks and valleys of the 162 game schedule, Black, guided his team to a 90 win season, 15 more wins than the previous year.  That was the best win differential in MLB.

Did anybody expect this?  No.  Did anybody figure out how to get the most of all his players, every single game?  No.  Case closed.  Vegas set the Padres win line at 71.5 before the season, and as GM Jed Hoyer pointed out today in a conference call, "They don't build those casinos by losing money. For me, [Black] was a clear choice."

Congratulations Buddy, on a well deserved honor.  It has been my privilege to work with him every game for the last four seasons, and I really enjoy talking baseball and other things with him all the time.  What you see is what you get with Bud Black, one of the good guys in the game of baseball.

I'm Baaaack...

Many of you have sent me Facebook and Twitter messages wondering about the status of my blog and after a long hiatus, I've decided to bring back Masur's Musings.  I can't guarantee it will be updated every day, or even every week, but I will certainly do my best to keep it relatively current.  I'm just happy that there were so many people that actually read my blog, I had no idea really, and I do appreciate the following.


Random Musings...

- What a win for the San Diego State Aztecs men's basketball team the other night at Gonzaga.  I've broadcast a few games at the "Kennel" and I've never heard the place as quiet as I did late in the game yesterday.  These Aztecs are for real, and will be a force to be reckoned with when conference play begins.

- The USD Toreros are off to a 1-1 start, coming off a loss at Stanford, Monday night.  This is a young team that Bill Grier has, 2 seniors, 2 juniors and 11 sophomores/freshman.  Hopefully the non-conference season, will get this inexperienced group ready for WCC play.  It's a great bunch of kids, and they are hard not to root for.

- By the way, in case you didn't hear, the Toreros games are on XTRA Sports 1360 this season.  I'm back for my fourth season of play-by-play and couldn't be happier.  I'll be away for the next couple of games to attend a good friend's wedding, so Ben Higgins will step in and handle the games, Friday night and Sunday afternoon at the JCP.

Alright, that's a wrap.  Chat soon.